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How many women are currently fighting in the Armed Forces? – A lot. Currently, 17% of Ukrainian service members are women. Of course, the vast majority of them do not fight directly on the front line, but there are more and more girls on the front line.
And after the start of the full-scale invasion, the most vivid impression was the dawn of Feb. 24, when my husband woke me up and said, “It’s started.” As we were getting ready, I admit that we seemed ready, but my hands were still shaking from the stress.
Because it is one thing to fight in the Donbas, having a strong rear in Kyiv, and quite another – not to have a rear at all and realize that your destiny is somewhere here, not far from your home, to stand to the end, because I cannot be captured, you know.
On the 1st day I recruited new fighters and perused Telegram channels every free second, and my partner Nadia told me: “Leave it! Don’t read bad news.” And in a couple of days there was such relief and pride for the state & the people that there was nothing to be scared of at all
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Thu, May 19, 2022, 4:58 PM·6 min read
Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for the ninth year in a row, and, with the exception of a few short breaks, sniper Olena Bilozerska has been defending her homeland all this time. The New Voice of Ukraine asked her what was happening at the front and when the turning point would come.
What tactics is the enemy employing? How different are they from the ones used in February-March?
– In the first days of the war, it was like a safari: enemy vehicles moving in dense columns were destroyed by ambushes on roads passing through forests. The surviving personnel fled into the woods, where they were caught by the territorial defense or simply local hunters.
Now the enemy primarily resorts to “pressing-out by firing” tactics, using a large number of artillery pieces and a large number of shells. The enemy’s task is to “grind” our positions and then try to occupy them. Nothing new – these are classic tactics since the First World War.
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What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian army?
– Strength: they have mechanisms to influence personnel to achieve their goals at any cost. Soldiers are simply treated as cannon fodder, and they are forced to accept it as their due.
The weakness is the absolute lack of initiative on the part of sergeants and junior officers. As a result, an inability to make autonomous decisions.
– Has the personnel of the Russian army changed qualitatively in comparison with the offensive in February?
– It has not changed. And why would it change? The same mercenaries, diluted by contractors.
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And how significant is the volunteer help for the front?
– No less significant than in 2014. The army has long since ceased to be hungry or barefoot, and the front still stood, stands and will stand on the shoulders of volunteers. It goes beyond supplies – it is about the phenomenon of national mindset. For example, only a few of the Russian “experts” have expensive high-quality equipment that helps to identify the enemy in time and hit it well; in this aspect, they are far inferior to us. And it’s all because they do not have a developed volunteer movement.
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How do you see the prospects of the Russo-Ukrainian war? When to expect the turning point and when do you think this war will end?
– The turning point will come when new units are formed and deployed, armed with the help of our Western allies. In particular, when we get a significant amount of modern aviation.
No one knows when the war will end. In my opinion, it will last at least another year. And it will end, of course, with our victory – the restoration of control over Ukrainian territories within internationally recognized borders, i.e. with Donbas and Crimea.
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Russian propaganda
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weehingthong 